Today’s Workout: Walked 2 miles with the dogs
They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, and although I vowed to practice clean eating this past weekend, starting yesterday, I forgot that I would have to overcome the hurdles and pressure of the rest of the world, especially when I would be attending my mom’s birthday party.
Hurdle #1: Find some “clean food” when going out to eat.
It’s really hard to find something that you consider to be “in it’s most natural state” when you go out to dinner. Half the time you have no idea what’s been added to it. Some people may call me a weirdo, but I’m not a huge fan of eating out for this reason. Ive always avoided most foods with “cream sauce” because they generally don’t help my cholesterol; and generally, most salads and salad dressings have hidden additives. Luckily, I found some chicken kabobs on the menu that were grilled, with no additives in them.
Hurdle #2: Re-defining good coffee.
I have always been a big fan of coffee, and my absolute favorite way to drink it had been in a huge honking mug with 4 tablespoons of International Delight Almond Joy coffee creamer in it. Well, considering the fact that this creamer can last for months in end without going bad, it’s not exactly “natural,” or even good for you. This morning, I replaced my regular creamer with some skim milk, a half teaspoon of vanilla extract, and two packets of stevia. It’s not Almond Joy, but not bad, either.
Hurdle #3: Going completely GF.
This one is going to take some time. When I’m baking, I do use GF flower when possible, but I’m not quite ready to give up my regular, non-GF bread just yet. Clean eating does not mean you have to go gluten free; this is just a personal decision that I’ve made because I’ve been having some GI problems. I’m seriously thinking about seeing an allergist to find out for sure if I’m allergic to gluten, but since I have some family members who are allergies to it, I’m thinking it’s likely that I am, too. Although I haven’t gone completely gluten free, the bread that I have been eating is freshly baked (no preservatives) and I’ve noticed that making this change has made me feel less tired than I usually am when finishing a meal.
Hurdle #4: Replacing my Crystal Light and other Splenda filled water additives with natural sweeteners.
This one I’m definitely still working on. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my water plain, but sometimes you need a change. When I go out to eat (like yesterday), it’s easy to order water with lemon (or lime), but if I’m going to do this at home, I need to make sure I buy fruit to flavor my water. Luckily, when I went to the store this evening, I purchased some yummy looking oranges…nom, nom, nom!
Hurdle #5: Giving up birthday cake.
OK, let’s be real. I am human. And I ate some cake at my mom’s birthday party. Although my plan is to use natural alternatives to sugar (my new go to sweetener is honey, because there’s nothing more natural than that), I know and accept that sugar will be found in plenty of foods which I won’t always be saying no to…like cake at my mother’s birthday party.
Was there ever anything you really enjoyed eating that you had to give up because of an allergy, new lifestyle, or diet? If so, what was it?
Do you follow a healthy eating regimen, such as clean eating, going GF, or paleo? If so, what type of healthy lifestyle did you choose (notice how I don’t use the word “diet”)?
26.2 x 2 